This hugely popular course features direct input from our literary agent team and is based in Curtis Brown’s Central London offices. The course will run from May 1st – July 17th 2019.

Curtis Brown Creative is committed to finding talented writers and helping them to get the best out of their novels. We are keen to promote diversity in our student groups and to find a writer through this scholarship program who we might not otherwise have heard from. If you have the desire to write, a great idea and a compelling voice, and if you’re without the financial means to attend a Curtis Brown Creative course, this scholarship opportunity is for you.

HW Fisher have been sponsoring places on our courses since 2016. Two of our previous HW Fisher scholars have gone on to get book deals. Our spring 2018 scholar Kiare Ladner had her debut novel Nightshift snapped up by Picadorwhilst she was studying with us. And our scholar of 2016, Louise McCreesh, now has a deal with Hodder & Stoughtonfor Cracked, the novel she was writing on the course.

‘I was thrilled to be given the HW Fisher Scholarship. It came at an incredibly helpful time when I was trying to work out how to move forward as a writer.’ – Kiare Ladner, 2018 HW Fisher scholar.

‘When I applied for the CBC scholarship, I had just quit a full-on day job because I could not stop having panic attacks about it and was worrying about my future. I thought I had no chance whatsoever of receiving the scholarship – so when I did, it felt like permission for me to pursue this thing that I had loved for so long.’ – Louise Mcreesh, 2016 HW Fisher scholar.

HW Fisher is a commercially astute organisation with a personal, partner-led service. The company’s dedicated media sector provides accountancy services to many published authors (several of whom are clients of Curtis Brown and C&W), and its accountants are experts in writers’ often peculiar financial arrangements. One of the main challenges for people in the creative industry is that their income is irregular; certain projects take longer than others to come to fruition. This pattern presents important challenges and opportunities for tax planning. HW Fisher has extensive experience of the relevant tax legislation and can initiate timely and effective procedures to minimise writers’ tax liabilities.

Eligibility

The scholarship is open to people over the age of 18, either:

unmarried and not co-habiting with a partner, with an annual (gross, pre-tax) income of less than £25,000 and personal savings of less than £5,000.

married or co-habiting with a partner, with a total annual (gross pre-tax) household income of less than £35,000 and personal savings (jointly or individually) of less than £5,000.

Applications

Curtis Brown Creative offers places on our courses on the basis of proven writing ability. We ask applicants to send us the first 3,000 words of a novel in progress, with a one page synopsis, and to fill out our application form. Please note that those with the financial means to attend our courses should not apply to the scholarship.

Selection

The HW Fisher Scholarship will be awarded to the applicant whose submission material shows the greatest potential and promise in our view. The decision will be made by the Curtis Brown Creative team.

Terms and conditions

Applicants to the HW Fisher Scholarship must fulfil our eligibility criteria. Our form asks you to make a statement about your financial circumstances and the reason you deserve the scholarship.

With respect to the earnings thresholds set out in our eligibility section: for salaried applicants, your current salary at date of application must be under the threshold. For self-employed applicants, your gross pre-tax profits (average figure for the last two financial years) must be under the threshold. State benefits such as jobseeker’s allowance should be counted as income.

Applicants may be asked to provide proof of their financial circumstances in support of their scholarship applications.

Because the scholarship is open only to those who do not have the means to attend the applicable course without financial assistance, applicants should bear in mind that their application will be considered only for the scholarship place on the relevant course and not for other fee-paying places on the course.

How to apply

Please apply with the first 3,000 words of the novel you’d like to work on during the course, and a synopsis of no more than a page (both need to be in the same document, as you can only upload ONE file in the application below). The deadline for applications is midnight, end of day Sunday 7th April, and we will respond to applicants by Monday 15th April. If you encounter any problems during the application process, or have any more questions about the course, please email cbccourses@curtisbrown.co.uk for assistance.

Please apply by midnight end of day Sunday 7th April.

Personal Details

Name*

FirstLast

Address*

Street AddressAddress Line 2CityZIP / Postal CodeCountry

Phone*

Please include country code is applicable

Email*

eg. name@domain.com

Date of Birth*

We won't share this data

Application Details

I want to take a CBC writing course because ...*

No more than 150 words please....

Writing CV*

State here the details of any previously published work, awards, prizes and other writing achievements

Current & Past Employment*

Education*

Where did you hear about us?*

Sample Work Upload*

Accepted file types: pdf, txt, doc, rtf, docx.

Please upload your synopsis and opening chapter in one document. Only PDF, TXT and DOC files accepted, file size must be less than 8mb

THE HW FISHER SCHOLARSHIP

Please tell us if ONE of the following two statements applies to your personal circumstances.

I am over 18 years of age, unmarried and not co-habiting with a partner, with an annual (gross, pre-tax) income of less than £25,000 [or equivalent] and I do not hold personal savings in excess of £5,000; I am over 18 years of age, married or co-habiting with a partner, with a total annual (gross, pre-tax) household income of less than £35,000 [or equivalent] and personal savings (jointly or individually) of less than £5,000.

Please state, in under 300 words, why you require funding in order to attend one of our courses and why we should award you this scholarship.

The following terms and conditions apply to scholarship applications. Please tick below to show your understanding and acceptance:

• I understand and accept that I may be asked to provide proof of my financial circumstances as stated under 2 above in support of my scholarship application

• I understand and accept that this scholarship is not open to those who have the means to attend the applicable course without financial assistance. Therefore I am applying ONLY for the scholarship place on this course and not as a fee-paying applicant, and I accept and understand that in the event I am not offered the scholarship, my course application will be withdrawn